


It's Just Like That Sometimes

by PencilSketchS



Category: Chinese Actor RPF, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF
Genre: BJYX Week (The Untamed RPF), BJYX Week 2020 Day 8, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Employee!Wang Yibo, Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Killer!Wang Yibo, Killer!Xiao Zhan, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Linear Narrative, On the Run, POV Alternating, Possible Character Death, Violence, ceo!Xiao Zhan, not a redemption story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:27:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27107965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PencilSketchS/pseuds/PencilSketchS
Summary: The handsome young CEO of his new company had the eyes of a predator. They followed Yibo, watching him with a sort of hunger that he was long used to. There was no reason to play with this one, they might as well skip to the fun part. It wouldn’t be a chore for Yibo, Xiao Zhan was a very attractive man.
Relationships: Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan
Comments: 24
Kudos: 66
Collections: BJYX Week 2020





	It's Just Like That Sometimes

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was based on an anonymous BJYX Prompt Fest prompt that I claimed early on, researched to death, and then never got around to writing. The BJYX week was just what I needed to get me to finally write this, as it fit the required dynamic. I set myself 3 days to draft this out, it took me longer to revise. I hope I've caught everything.
> 
> This prompt was based on the following video (which seems to have gotten longer since I originally saw it). It does stray a bit from the video. [VIDEO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHBF3ZayO7E)
> 
> I have set up a playlist, and tried to order them to suit the story as it unfolds, but I'm sure the timing is wrong. Enjoy it anyway. [PLAYLIST](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ER9GONss56NOf6pey0Azs?si=XuF18glTSySoiapIvqqZjg)
> 
> Additional Disclaimer: I'm not sure if it's possible to stay completely in character while writing these two as killers. I did try to make them distinct persons, though. This is not a love story, really, and it's not a redemption story for either. Heed the tags. Also, there is no assault of a sexual nature perpetrated by either, though there is some dubcon undressing and noncon drugging with photo taking. The E rating is for violent content, there is not very much smut. I think it goes without saying but I don't condone the behaviours or actions as portrayed in this fic in real life. Enjoy responsibly. If I am missing important tags, please let me know.

## A Predatory Sense

### 18 September 2020, Friday

#### Xiao Zhan

He meets Wang Yibo on a Friday afternoon at a sales meeting. He’s one of multiple consultants and freelance sales agents they’ve brought in for the launch of a new product and Xiao Zhan has never seen him before.

That day Xiao Zhan is feeling trapped in his skin, he’s been eyeing the people around him surreptitiously, thinking about the last time he felt like this, that first time he took someone home. He’d been a young partner then. She’d been an intern. He hardly remembers her face, but what he does remember is the red of her lipstick, an arresting ruby red.

They were all seated at the boardroom table. Wang Yibo was biting at his thumbnail. Xiao Zhan could not look away. He was not being subtle. He could tell Yibo had broken skin from the way he suddenly flinched, sucking at his thumb. Their eyes met and Yibo’s widened with first shock, then realisation. For a perfect moment their gazes burned before Yibo turned abruptly away.

Was he shy?

A week of insomnia and increasingly neurotic and fastidious daily cleaning of his home dissipated like so much bitter froth from a crashed wave as storm clouds gathered outside. 

Xiao Zhan didn’t really like the shy type. His tastes ran towards the overconfident, the brazen, the easily provoked. But for all that he was not his type, Wang Yibo was lovely. Xiao Zhan’s eyes lingered a little longer.

  
  


## Look, It’s a Crime Scene

### 11 October 2020, Sunday

#### Wang Yibo

It’s overcast once again. The little brick and concrete hostel squatted anonymous and ugly on the outskirts of Beijing. Wang Yibo had just returned when the first rumbles of thunder began to roll through the skies. From the look of the apartment you would have guessed that he was either just moving in or had already moved out. There was a lack of furniture that was somehow desolate. A bare mattress, a threadbare couch, an old tube tv. The only sturdy piece of furniture was a large standing closet. 

Kicking off his shoes in the entryway, he walked over in worn slippers to kneel down before the little cat carrier, cooing at the grey and white cat inside. He flicked his newly honey blond hair for her to admire.

“It looks good? I was thinking of cutting my hair, but this looks better right?”

The cat, of course, did not answer, so Yibo gave up and settled onto the couch with his takeout, switching on the tv. Much to his amusement it’s a news broadcast. On screen is the image of a burning house, out in a secluded neighbourhood. Thick billows of smoke are backlit by hot red as fire consumes the designer home. The reporter seems entirely unaffected as they calmly state that this is footage of a house fire currently underway that seems to belong to one Xiao Zhan, the owner of a small pharmaceutical company. It is suspected that Xiao Zhan was in his home when the fire started as his car is still on the property. 

“Incompetent.” Yibo lifts the remote to turn off the tv entirely, but pauses to stare at the photo that appears on the screen behind the news anchor. His eyes darken and he can’t help but smirk as a face he’s very intimately familiar with appeared on up the screen. “Ah, Zhan-ge really has no bad angle. Even a headshot catches his good side.”

With a roll of his eyes, Yibo turned off the tv. For all Xiao Zhan played at being normal to the world, Yibo knew him so much more than any reporter could research. He’d seen inside his home, inside his head, and what he’d found there had been far darker than he’d expected. But that’s all moot now. A faint clatter of movement brings him back to the present.

It’s with a sense of purpose that Yibo returns to his meal. He stuffs his mouth full as he eats with gusto, cheeks bulging, hardly sparing a moment to get his hair out of his face. Within a matter of minutes he had decimated the whole meal, and reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. These new phones are such a nuisance, it gets harder every time to figure out how to get them open to swap out sim cards. He bends the little plastic square until it snaps in half, then gathers up the cat. They have places to be.

## Another Threatening Letter

### 02 October 2020, Friday

#### Xiao Zhan

He didn’t know how he had gotten in, but when Xiao Zhan came down stairs for breakfast that morning, Wang Yibo had left another pristine envelope on his dining room table. He remembered vividly the first envelope he’d received. Much like the first letter this second envelope was a familiar cardstock. Cream, crisp and expensive, while the note inside is messily scrawled on a scrap of plain paper. It seemed his own company stationery could and would be used against him. What was new was the bright red imprint pressed into the page. Next to another large sum of money that was being demanded from him, Wang Yibo had pressed a blood red kiss.

He remembers reading his new employee’s credentials. He’d been a cosmetics sales rep at some point. Of course he had tried to match the colour.

When Wang Yibo had returned to work the Monday after their unfortunate encounter, his face had been bruised and his attitude self-deprecating. He’d made no indication that he’d seen something in Xiao Zhan’s home that he wasn’t meant to, even though he really had. Xiao Zhan had felt a thrill of misgiving-tinged intrigue. There was a frisson of danger to Wang Yibo coming right back to him. 

What he hadn’t expected was for Yibo to be the one to approach him alone in his bright and airy office.

“I wasn’t sure if I should expect to see you back here?” Xiao Zhan forewent any greeting, getting straight to the point. Why bother with niceties now? He straightened his pen, centered his mouse on the mousepad, flipped close his laptop so he could pay full attention to the situation at hand.

“I’m sorry I left in such a hurry that night, Zhan-ge.” Wang Yibo stepped right up to his desk, he wouldn’t be sitting. 

“I’m sorry about a lot of things that happened that night.” Xiao Zhan could just make out the pattern of bruising around Yibo’s neck.

“I really wasn’t trying to pry, I was just curious about you.” Yibo’s eyes are dark and intent and absent any fear of retribution.

“Whatever your intentions, Wang Yibo, you’ve stolen something that belongs to me.” Xiao Zhan doesn’t remember how Yibo split his lip, but it looks red and sensitive, just healed. 

“I’d really like to return it to you.” He’d placed the envelope on Xiao Zhan’s desk before disappearing with a cheeky wave. 

That first envelope contained a note, not unlike the one he’d just received, and one other item that meant Wang Yibo meant business. A screen captured photo of a dead man.

Yibo hadn’t returned to the office the next day, or the next, or any day after that. 

  
  


## A Veritable Trail of Bodies

### 11 October 2020, Sunday

#### Wang Yibo

“This isn’t the first murder-arson to take place in an affluent area.” The man on the radio says to his co-host. “ There have been at least 4 similar cases in the past 5 years. Bachelors, living alone, all well off. This latest victim was actually a fair bit younger than the rest.”

“So you think it’s the work of a serial killer?”

“With all the similarities adding up, it very well could be.”

The car window is open and Yibo leans his elbow out of it, trying to cool off despite the pre-storm humidity. He’s been on the road since before midnight and almost 8 hours later he was ready to reach his destination. A dull thumping had started up at the back of the car, and he imagined he could match his heart rate to it for the first few minutes. He’d been listening to one of his electronic dance playlists, but figured now would be a good time to catch up on the day’s news.

“They have a possible suspect though, don’t they?” The woman continues.

“Yes, one of the employees at the victim’s pharmaceutical company disappeared just before the murder occured.”

“Could it really be that simple? One company employee said that the young man in question might have been in some other trouble. He’d come to work covered in bruises some weeks previously. He might not be involved at all.”

“Involved or not, the police are very interested in his whereabouts. His company photo has been blasted on social media, guilty or not. It’s best to keep an eye open for him. He’s quite good looking, isn’t he?”

The woman laughs at this statement. “Oh, he most definitely is. It would be a shame if he was the culprit. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for him, I’m generally always on the lookout for a handsome young man.”

And on that uninspiring note, he switched the radio completely off. Maybe silence is what he needed after all. Just the familiar sound of the car engine and the tyres gripping the road.

The car turned a corner, and there before him stretched a vast river. It’s only a few hours after dawn, light reflecting off the calm, mirror smooth water. Yibo looked over at the scene then turned with a smile to the passenger seat and this little passenger there. “We’re nearly home, sweet girl, then you’ll get to run around freely again, huh? Welcome to Luoyang.”

## An Unfortunate Discovery

### 25 September 2020, Friday

#### Xiao Zhan

He hadn’t expected his new employee to tail him home. He had hardly left the congested city streets before he noticed he was being followed. Telling his new employee off on the side of the road had hardly seemed to dissuade him. He hadn’t expected for his annoyance to morph into the simmering tension that caused them to fall into bed together. This young buck had followed him home like a lamb to the slaughter, naive and eager. It teased at an itch that had been building under his skin. 

Yibo was beautiful, without a doubt. Smooth skinned, long and lithe, his hair silky and perfect to grab and pull. As they’d undressed each other he’d felt a mix of heady appreciation for art, and an equal reluctance to dirty up and consume this perfect specimen. Then Yibo had shattered his expectations and changed before his eyes from a docile, shy, eager young thing into a quietly confident stud who seemed to mock Xiao Zhan with his crooked smile and challenging words. 

He let Xiao Zhan push him down onto the bed.

“Xiao-zong, how should I address you?” His skin was flushed and radiant, eyes shy, Xiao Zhan had believed it wholeheartedly.

“How would you like to address me?” He’d been intrigued so interested to see what this boy would choose.

Wang Yibo sucked his lip into his mouth before making very decisive eye contact.

“Zhan-ge.”

“So familiar.” He’d admonished, but Wang Yibo had just given him a slow once over, taking in Xiao Zhan’s nakedness.

“I don’t think we can get any more familiar than right now, do you?”

Xiao Zhan was on him in seconds, mouth on his mouth, legs spread so he could bracket Yibo’s hips and get his hand around them both.

“I expect you to deliver on this sudden confidence. You better know how to use this thing, you most certainly have enough of it.” He says the last with a pointed squeeze, licking the hiss from Yibo’s mouth.

It was late by the time Xiao Zhan could convince his limbs to carry him from his bed, where Yibo had finally passed out, to a much needed shower. He didn’t mind his weekend being interrupted, or missing dinner, if the reward was this delicious ache and stretch. 

He didn’t expect Yibo to go through his things while he was in the shower after their romp. He’d stepped back into the room to the sight of Yibo seated half naked on the bed. He’d helped himself to the content of Xiao Zhan’s closet, evident by the loose pants he wore and the little screen of his camcorder lighting up Yibo’s face as he watched it’s footage. He saw Yibo assess the distance between himself and the bedroom door once the shock of his discovery had worn off.

“You really shouldn’t have touched that.”

He didn’t really expect Yibo to run. He also didn’t expect for Yibo to get away when Xiao Zhan very definitely put every effort into stopping him when he ran. He jumped the stair banister to tackle Yibo, knocking the camcorder out of his hand. He’d lost his towel in the scuffle, but that had meant that Yibo had nothing to grip on and use as leverage to pull him off as Xiao Zhan squeezed his hands around Yibo’s throat. Yibo’s eye was already starting to swell from where Xiao Xhan had managed a solid hit to Yibo’s face. 

Their positioning was a parody of just moments before, as Xiao Zhan sat astride Yibo, his breath laboured for an altogether different reason than before. Yibo bucked up against him as if he too had the same idea, and it was enough of a distraction for Yibo to throw his weight to the side and lever Xiao Zhan’s hands off his neck. He was gasping and running out the door before Xiao Zhan had time to recover. Of course he’d managed to pick up the camcorder on his way out too.

## How to Arrange a Body

### 10 October 2020, Saturday

#### Wang Yibo

Your first impression of Wang Yibo was not amazement at how well he could move a dead body, but really, it should be. He’s certainly had enough practice with it. It’s with an economy of movements and a show of physicality that he drags the tarp wrapped body up from the house’s basement to the master bedroom of the house.

“Ah, I know, you’re wondering who invited him to your bed, right? Well, Zhan-ge, that was you actually.” Wang Yibo sat the wrapped body up, crouched to grab it around the middle of its mass, then hefted it up onto the bed beside a prone, fixed eyed Xiao Zhan. He took a rest to watch for the slow rise of Xiao Zhan’s chest before getting to the business of unwrapping the body, collecting the taup for disposal. It wouldn’t do for there to be evidence of it. Why would he gift wrap a fresh corpse? Only old, hidden corpses got that special service. 

“The last time I was here, I just wanted to check where that video you made was shot. Imagine my surprise when I found this guy. Wasn’t it creepy keeping him down there? He’s not even properly frozen. I mean, he’s chilled at best. I didn’t take you for an amateaur, for someone with such a developed predatory aura, Zhan-ge.” An oddly affectionate smile pushed Yibo’s cheeks into round puffs. “But I’m pretty good at getting rid of them, don’t worry. In fact, this is lucky for you, because they’ll think this guy is you and they won’t know to come after you. Good, right?”

Xiao Zhan’s eyes finally managed to twitch and move, swivelling around to jump to Yibo then the partially decomposed corpse beside him. 

“Ah, are the meds wearing off? It’s really a fun little combination you came up with. Let me top you up because I’m gonna need you good and quiet for me, Zhan-ge. Say goodbye to your friend now because I have to get a good proper fire going and there’s not going to be enough of him left for anyone to identify.”

Quiet reigned after that as Xiao Zhan was injected with yet more of his cocktail of anaesthetics to sink back into a twilight state of conscious unconsciousness. His brain passively absorbed and discarded sensory information as Yibo moved around the room. He was carried to his lounge before Yibo started dousing the house in accelerants. He was in no state to spare a passing thought to just how filthy Yibo was making everything, or even to hope that Jianguo would be okay.

The sky was clear and the air was dry, it was a good night for a fire.

## The Crushing Force of the Heel

### 10 October 2020, Saturday

#### Xiao Zhan

At first he’d thought of Wang Yibo as a simple liability. After all, there had been no policemen knocking down his door the morning after their altercation. When Wang Yibo had returned to work to make his threat he’d realised he might have more of a problem here than he bargained for. His seemingly shy demeanor hid the heart of a consummate conman and blackmailer. Xiao Zhan bought himself some time with that first payment. 

The second request, though, had been for an astronomical amount.

“There’s no way I can afford that!” He’d hissed at Yibo, who’d shown up to his house that night to come and see him in response to Xiao Zhan not making any transfer in the past week.

“Better make some sort of plan. You’re doing so well for yourself. You are CEO of a company, and at such a young age. Zhan-ge, you’re really so impressive. I have every faith in you.”

He’d been hoping for something like this. He’d had no other way to lure Yibo out, and now here he was. He’d come to him on his own. He’d prepared his perfected anaesthetic formular, a combination of sedatives he used to keep his dolls nice and quiescent without pushing them too far. Respiratory depression or cardiac arrest weren’t a good look on film. Wang Yibo might have seen what he was capable of, but he had no idea of his methods, not truly. 

“Can’t you just pretend you didn’t see anything that night? You don’t look like you’re that hard up for money.” They had stepped into the house. This was Xiao Zhan’s territory. He wouldn’t be outwitted or overpowered here.

“To be honest, it is just an excuse. I’ve been wondering how you could do what you do. I’m just exacting some justice.”

“Is that what you call this?” Xiao Zhan huffed a laugh in disbelief, eyes hardening, determination settling. “That last one was a mistake. I’m more a catch and release kind of guy. But then, like now, I guess I just got unlucky with who I brought home.”

“I find it hard to believe you could accidentally choke someone to death.”

“He fought back. He was belligerent to start with.”

“I bet you like them belligerent.”

“What I don’t like is being insulted.”

“But what you do like,” Yibo said, stepping closer into his space, “Is having their lives in the palm of your hand. Isn’t it?”

That was it, he was close enough, and Xiao Zhan had heard enough. Yibo might have made all his plans to come here and get whatever he wanted from Xiao Zhan, but he was sorely mistaken about the outcome of this visit. Yibo wasn’t expecting to get jabbed in the neck. Xiao Zhan moved fast, practiced, grabbing hold of Yibo in a choke hold immediately after so that the drug would have a chance to take effect. He went down like a puppet who had lost the tension in it’s strings, sagging and falling into himself.

It was such a pity that such a beautiful young man could be such a pain in the ass. And not the type of ache that Xiao Zhan appreciated.

It took some effort, but Yibo eventually roused to the point of being able to follow instructions, and with his help Xiao Zhan got him down the stairs to the basement he had had built below his house. He’d modelled it as a studio, with an odd accompaniment of furniture and lighting equipment. He steered Yibo into the studio, past a claw-footed tub and to the crushed velvet loveseat.

“Darling, it’s almost a waste to squander you like this. But I promise I’ll make you beautiful before the end.” 

It was amazing how the ticks and compulsions calmed down when he was focused like this on his latest project. With a casual sweep of his gaze around the room a sudden impulse struck him. He could worry about the outfit later, composition and lighting could wait. What he needed on Yibo immediately was that red lipstick. 

That red from his very first puppet. He remembered fondly how he’d tested this combination of sedatives on her to test its effect. The triumph he’d felt when she seemed to remember nothing of her hours spent in this room. She’d made a lovely model, and a thrilling subject. He’d never seen her again after that morning when she’d woken up dazed and confused. Now all he had left was this vivid red. He had to fetch it from his room, and when he returned Yibo hadn’t budged at all. He knelt down before the loveseat, carefully applying red to Yibo’s lips. It looked especially perfect on Yibo’s full mouth. 

“What bad luck that you have to die. You really are quite beautiful.” Xiao Zhan murmured.

It was with alarm that Xiao Zhan saw a grin form on Yibo’s previously lax face. He lunged for the syringe on the low table by the seat, but Yibo tackled him to the floor, got an arm around his neck until Xiao Zhan could feel his pulse in his eyes as he gasped for air that wasn’t reaching his lungs.

“Ah, but Zhan-ge, I really don’t want to die tonight.” Yibo said into his ear even has his vision darkened from the outside in. “I watched your recordings very carefully. And I might have snooped around a bit the last time I left you a note. You’re really a creature of habit. It wasn’t hard to figure out you’d try this. So I took precautions. A little bit of ritalin and I premedicated with some Naloxone before I knocked on your door.”

Yibo must have noticed he was losing his audience, and let up some of his chokehold. Xiao Zhan gasped and gulped in as much air as he could get, eyes looking for something, anything, that could be used to turn the tables.

“What I really found fascinating though, Zhan-ge, was how you looked as you were choking out that man you killed. There was a look of peace on your face. Like your heart was slowing down with his. Like you were released, just as he was liberated from life.”

The prick of a needle meant his time was up. Oh, how he’d miscalculated this one.

## What’s a Good Pretext for Sex?

### 25 September 2020, Friday

#### Wang Yibo

Finding a new job and a new target wasn’t so much a necessity as it was a way to quell his boredom. His work history was surprisingly solid for someone who moved from one company to another and switched fields on a whim. But his capacity for making sales when it counted netted him a nice pharmaceutical sales rep post, and it was time to go fishing.

He’d like to say he had a refined taste for the bullies and predators of the world, but it was probably more that it was easier to seduce a narcissist and less fun to destroy good and nice people. Powerful men expected to be swindled of some money by a pretty face, like they were paying an entertainment fee. He cosied up to them and struck while their guard was down. An affair, extortion, murder. A merry cycle. But one that was losing its shine.

Having everything money could buy had long proved to be boring. Yibo needed something new and interesting, that money couldn’t buy.

The handsome young CEO of his new company had the eyes of a predator. They followed Yibo, watching him with a sort of hunger that he was long used to. There was no reason to play with this one, they might as well skip to the fun part. It wouldn’t be a chore for Yibo, Xiao Zhan was a very attractive man.

Perhaps tailing Xiao Zhan’s car had been dramatic, but the reward of a stern faced Xiao Zhan looking ready for a confrontation was everything Yibo didn’t know he wanted.

“What are you following me for?” Xiao Zhan had his hands on his hips. Yibo’s mouth watered. “What? No response?” He was irate, his fingers drumming an impatient beat on his hip. Yibo had noticed that before. The fidgeting.

“I-” Yibo pursed his lips, paused, mumbled. Anything to make him lean closer to hear, which he did. So Yibo licked his lip and bit it for good measure. “You left your planner, I just wanted to bring it for you. Can I bring it to your home?”

It was fun to see the wheels spin in Xiao Zhan’s mind, to see his eyes pan over Yibo, to see his jaw clench, to see his eyes darken. 

Xiao Zhan nodded once, then turned to resume his drive, confident he’d be followed. When Yibo stepped up to the front door he’d been grabbed by the lapels of his suit jacket and pushed up against the entryway wall, where Xiao Zhan had proceeded to lay siege to his mouth. It looked like they were both done playing. They didn’t bother with slippers at the door. Outside, the rain that had been threatening to fall all day finally broke loose from the sky.

It was somewhere between the moment that Xiao Zhan kissed him in his front entrance and the moment he came back to the bed with the lube and began efficiently preparing himself to sit on Yibo’s cock that Yibo must have fallen in love. Xiao Zhan was a monster, a very beautiful monster, and whether he knew it or not he was about to fall right into Yibo’s hands.

Perhaps Yibo hadn’t been prepared for just how effectively Xiao Zhan would fall into his hands either. For someone so meticulous about his actions, Xiao Zhan really didn’t know how to hide the proof of his crimes well enough.

## Pin-Up Doll Marionette

### 11 October 2020, Sunday

#### Xiao Zhan

Xiao Zhan’s oldest clear memory is of this grandfather handing him an old polaroid camera. The old man had been very proud of this possession, but equally pleased that he could pass it down to Xiao Zhan. He remembers their long walks on the endless stairs of Chongqing, looking for that perfect vista, the perfect subject.

Years later that camera had been in his hand as he asked his shy girlfriend if she wanted to undress for a picture. More than her giggling response or the subsequent photos, it was her reticence and capitulation that fired up Xiao Zhan’s blood. He’d made her make herself do that. It was a feeling he would chase like a man possessed forever after. 

Thoughts of that camera were scattered like startled birds from his mind as a plume of dust rose up around him. He felt muggy and hot, and now unable to breath. When he finally stopped coughing there were tears in his eyes. He blinked wetly to clear his vision enough to watch white billowing sheets of cloth floating up and down all around him. He couldn’t move his arms?

He was on the floor next to what appeared to be a couch that had just lost it’s drop sheet. A figure moved around in the room beside him pulling sheets from furniture as if returning to a house that had been vacant for a long time.

And then a face appeared before him, arresting eyes and a sharp chin. Instead of the copper coloured coif he was used to, Yibo’s hair was now a bright blonde, swept artfully to one side of his face. He tucked an errand lock playfully behind his ear as he crouched there over Xiao Zhan.

“Ge, are you awake now? You weren’t very coherent earlier, but you’re quiet now so I’m guessing you’re not confused anymore?”

Xiao Zhan tried to pull his hands free. He wanted to show Yibo that his hands were tied, so that maybe Yibo would help. But would Yibo help? 

“Ah, you’re so cute when you’re confused, ge.” Yibo flicked his forehead, but then pulled him up to sitting and began untying his arms. “I hope you behave, Zhan-ge, because I really don’t want to have to keep you tied up like an animal. Do you remember what happened before this?”

“I was going to take your picture.” Xiao Zhan’s voice was cracked and dry, and even now he felt like he might need to cough to dislodge the dust he’d inhaled. His eyes itched and his head felt fuzzy. What was his last memory? “You didn’t quite get the right red. It was a limited edition.”

This last bit had Yibo throwing his head back in a laugh.

“You like the colour that much?”

“I wanted to see it on you.” Being honest was apparently a side effect of recovering from anaesthetics. “You were beautiful, but then I had to kill you. You’re not dead.”

Yibo blew out a sigh, flicking his hair back. “I’m not.”

“Are you planning to kill me, instead, Wang Yibo?”

The feeling of struggling for air suddenly flashes into his brain fully formed, and with it a startling feeling of peace?

“No, I didn’t bring you here to kill you. In the eyes of the law, you’re actually already dead.” Yibo gathered Xiao Zhan’s hands into his lap where they sat on the floor and rubbed at the red angry skin from the rope that had held his arms bound. “It’s all over the news. I’ll show you later.” 

A soft meow sounded from behind him and Xiao Zhan turned an unsteady head to see Jianguo step tentatively over the hardwood floors as she ventured out of a cat carrier.

“Then why did you bring me here? Where are we?” 

“This is home. My parents left it to me ages ago, but I never had any use for it till now. Sorry for the mess, but don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll have it all warm and cozy in no time.”

While Xiao Zhan was slowly gaining clarity of the events of the past few days Wang Yibo’s machinations and manipulations were being laid bare. Here, like this, there was something about the truly relaxed smile on this beautiful boy’s face as he laid out his vision that was almost mesmerising. Yibo slowly detailed how they would lay low here for a while, far enough away from anyone that might recognise either of them. They didn’t need to worry about money, after all. He sounded very sure, very proud of himself and his plans.

Yibo didn’t flinch at all when he reached out a hand to touch that blonde hair, grab the back of his skull and pull him into a hungry kiss.

“You didn’t have any of this planned out before, did you?” Xiao Zhan asked. Yibo surely couldn’t have known what he was getting himself into when he stole that camcorder. But it seemed like Xiao Zhan had been equally as blind to the danger he was getting himself into by inviting Yibo home.

“No, you were just meant to be like the others. Greedy and boring, then gone.”

“And now you want to keep me?”

“Can’t I?

The body Yibo had staged on Xiao Zhan’s bed had been Xiao Zhan’s one and only murder victim. His mind had felt like it was on fire. Only the act of posing his dolls had been able to pull him out of it, bring him back, still the monster under the surface. He’d only meant to make another puppet, string him up and dance him around, cut him loose and forget he existed. But the monster was getting greedier. It was beyond what Xiao Zhan was confident he could control.

Before Yibo, he’d felt it coming on again. He didn’t want to acknowledge that he might lose control again. He’d wanted to prove to himself that he did have some restraint. He hadn’t even planned to do anything to Yibo that night Yibo had followed him home.

Instead now, here was Yibo, apparently privy to his most secret secrets.

And for the first time it seemed like there was another way to calm the monster. Dangerous and unpredictable though it was, there’d at least be no more blood on Xiao Zhan’s hands. And until Yibo got tired of him, there’d probably be none on Yibo’s for a while, either.

## Measure Your Days in Sunshine

### Unknown future

#### Xiao Zhan

Their neighbours didn’t really know much about the two men that lived on the house at the top of the hill. They travelled a lot, rarely seemed to hold work hours. Xiao Zhan woke up early and watched the river from the bedroom balcony. Later, Yibo would drag him back to the bed with deceptively sweet kisses before rushing through his prep and fucking him hard into the mattress. If Xiao Zhan liked not knowing if this time Yibo would try to choke him out, or if this time he’d make up for his roughness with soft touches and kisses, then he was just all the more spoilt for surprise.

He’d considered just leaving. He was officially pronounced dead after all, without any ties or penny to his name. He could survive like this. He wasn’t obligated to stay with Wang Yibo. 

And maybe it was that single fact that had him stay. 

#### Wang Yibo

Today they’re on the beach. There are a lot of other people around, but he doesn’t pay them any mind. Xiao Zhan has gotten fidgety again, and Yibo can’t help but run through a list of ways he can help him with that. But it’s a game all its own for them to both wait to see when the other would notice, would notice being noticed, how long and how far it would get before either of them did anything about it. They’d played around pretending like Yibo would just let Xiao Zhan bring some beautiful thing home, but he'd be far too jealous to let anyone near his Zhan-ge without leaving bodies in their wake. They’ve both been so good about not murdering people. 

There’s a child screaming and laughing somewhere, and the sounds of the waves crashing is tumultuous and rhythmic and calming. Yibo jogs to catch up with Xiao Zhan’s long stride.

“Zhan-ge, how about I get us some ice cream. Let’s eat out tonight, huh? Maybe sushi. Or hotpot. Something raw.”

Surprisingly, for a prize so cheaply bought, the mere price of their identities and the burned ruins of a house, Wang Yibo was nowhere near bored yet with his new acquisition. For the first time he felt oddly whole and at peace. 

They don’t keep track of what day it was anymore. It was enough to know whether it’s good weather to be outdoors or not. Today there was not a cloud in the sky. The rains have already fallen and washed everything clean. Now only calm remains.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on twitter @AndreaMadspade
> 
> All comments are welcome


End file.
